MLB's arbitration window has ended, closing the book on a strange part of the offseason that over-indexes on lawyers and sometimes leads to bad blood between player and club.
How it works: The process began in early December, hit another milestone in mid-January and finally ended this past Friday.
Chris Hogan, a 10-year NFL veteran who won two Super Bowls as a wide receiver with the Patriots (2016, 2018), has decided to transition back to lacrosse — his first love.
The backdrop: Hogan starred for Penn State's lacrosse team from 2007-10 before enrolling at Monmouth University to play one season of football. The 33-year-old will be available for selection in the Premier Lacrosse League's Entry Draft on March 25.
New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is stepping away from the team after his former KHL (Russia) coach, Andrei Nazarov, told a Russian tabloid that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in Latvia in 2011.
Why it matters: Nazarov is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Panarin has shown support for opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was recently sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.
BioReference Laboratories, Inc. has been a key cog in the sports-amid-a-pandemic machine, providing tailor-made, COVID-19 testing solutions for most major American sports leagues.
What to know: Founded in 1981 and owned by parent company OPKO Health, BioReference is one of the largest full-service, specialty laboratories in the U.S., averaging 50-60,000 PCR tests per day.
Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2, to keep his Australian Open dominance intact — nine finals, nine championships.
Why it matters: Djokovic now has 18 Grand Slam singles titles, two away from the men's record held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Only Nadal has won a single Slam more often (13x at Roland-Garros).
